Following on from a successful launch of Australia’s first cinema for kids designed by kids at Vjunior Southland, Village Cinemas is set to open its doors to another Vjunior cinema in late June. Located at Fountain Gate, Vjunior in partnership with Hot Wheels expands on the entertainment company’s ethos of providing customers with a World of Movie Experiences.

Village Cinemas is also pleased to welcome Nine Network’s Lauren Phillips as ambassador of Vjunior. Phillips will play host to each Vjunior launch event and continue to enjoy Village Cinemas’ unique cinema concepts.

General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Mohit Bhargava said “We have been overwhelmed by the success of Vjunior and are truly looking forward to extending this offering across more locations, and are equally thrilled to have Lauren on board. With her extensive experience in and passion for the children’s entertainment space, Lauren is the ideal ambassador for Vjunior”.

Located in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs, Village Cinemas Fountain Gate will invite junior guests to experience a new cinema concept, designed by kids, for kids.

After last year’s Vjunior cinema debut at Village Cinemas Southland, Bhargava stated, “We believe we have successfully filled the gap in the market for kids’ cinema experiences.”

“The arrival of Vjunior at Village Cinemas Fountain Gate demonstrates the proven strength of our innovative cinema concepts and our continuous ambition to deliver extraordinary movie experiences.”

The in-cinema experience includes an iconic indoor slide (a popular attraction at Vjunior Southland), along with a range of seating options available, from custom-fit bean bag seats and lounges for kids, while parents can relax in more traditional cinema seating.

The cinema maintains the child friendly environment, with modified volumes and lighting levels, a shorter pre-show and an intermission, allowing children to socialise, take snack and bathroom breaks. A special kids menu will be on offer, accompanied by a coffee cart for parents to enjoy.

Leading toy brand Mattel, has partnered with Village Cinemas Australia to offer an array of in- cinema activities. Vjunior driven by Hot Wheels includes Hot Wheels play tables to challenge yourself and compete to find the fastest car, a custom built interactive scan and play technology showcased on the big screen, plus a Mega Bloks play wall and a Barbie photo booth. There is something for children of all ages.

Chedney Rodgers, Director of Marketing at Mattel, said, “We are excited to continue developing these cinema sites together with Village Cinemas, and bringing the wonder of childhood to life within the cinema experience.”

“The partnership has proven to work extremely well. Combining our power of play together with the cinema experience certainly creates the perfect outing for every child.”

Village Cinemas Fountain Gate will now boast four unique cinema concepts, allowing patrons to choose their own experience;

• Gold Class, Village Cinemas introduced the first premium cinema offering to the world in 1997. The luxurious movie experience includes recliner seating and full food and beverage service provided by dedicated wait staff.
• Vmax launched in 2007, the perfect destination for blockbuster films, with bigger seats, bigger sound, and a bigger screen.
• Traditional, the original, which started Village’s journey 62 years ago, for every movie lover to escape the everyday.
• And now, the new addition of VJunior, a cinema for kids, designed by kids.

Village Cinemas will continue to expand its footprint with a rollout of other Vjunior locations occurring later this year, including at Village Cinemas Knox before the September school holidays.

About Village Cinemas
Showing movies has long been a tradition with Village Roadshow, having started in 1954 with the first of its drive-in cinemas. Today, Village Roadshow jointly owns and operates approximately 600 cinemas across three countries, and continues to lead the world in providing state-of-the-art entertainment experiences. In Australia, Village Cinemas is one of the country’s largest exhibitors with a large share of screens across all Australian states. The Cinema Exhibition division operates predominantly in Australia, Singapore and the United States mainly through joint ventures with Greater Union in Australia and Orange Sky Golden Harvest in Singapore.

Since its inception, Village Cinemas has not only expanded the number of cinemas it operates, it has enriched the cinema-going experience through the creation of ‘entertainment destinations’ aiming to increase attendances and improve the world of cinema. The division has also sought to widen the appeal of going to the movies by creating new concept cinemas attractive to a broader demographic and providing entertainment in true style. Village Cinemas is a major force in cinema exhibition in Australia and overseas, and continues to lead the world in stadium seating, digital projection, 3D blockbuster movies, premium cinema experiences and innovative ticket purchasing. Village Cinemas has been and will continue to be the place ‘where movies live.’ For more information, visit http://villagecinemas.com.au.